Loving Too Late
by speed killz
Summary: Chao is gone, and Ku Fei realizes just how much she misses her. A little too late, she realizes she loves Chao. At least, she thinks it's too late. It's not too sad, and it has an upbeat ending. Eventual Chao/Ku Fei


Loving Too Late

Ku Fei smiled weakly, and assured Negi in her broken Japanese that she was fine.

"It okay, Negi-Bouzu, I is fine, honest."

Negi stared at her. "You don't seem it." He said. "Our morning session lacked your usual spunk. Maybe Chao leaving has hurt you more than you let on...?" He asked, unsure if that was what was really bothing her.

"N-no, I don't know..." Ku Fei trailed off, then shrugged.  
"I go sit down now Negi-Bouzu." She said, turning and heading for her desk. Negi said nothing; he watched her for a few seconds before turning away.  
"Now, class, I'd like to review..."

Ku Fei sighed. Today had been very trying on her patience. She knew it wasn't Negi's fault, or the fault of the other students who had asked her repeatedly if she was alright; it went toward their concern for her. But she still wanted to be left alone to think. She supposed it was her own fault for not telling them straight up that she just wanted some time alone.

Ku Fei pulled her shirt over her head, and tossed it onto the floor beside her bed. Her dark red bra seemed almost black in the unlit room, and she sat down softly on her bed. She stared at the floor between her feet for a few seconds, many thoughts running through her head. Her fading patience had turned into slight anger, but she willed it away. She had no one to be angry with, certainly not her caring classmates.

Ku Fei leaned back until she was laying on her bed. Her eyes slid closed, and Chao's face appeared in her mind. Her throat tightened, and her heart skipped a beat. She whispered Chao's name, and the sound of it hurt. Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, and she placed her hands on her face. She took a deep, shaking breath, calming her racing heart, and willing herself not to cry.

A few minutes later, and her shaky breathing stopped. The tears refused to leave though, and they leaked from underneath her fingers, sliding down her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes closed, willing them to stop, but they didn't.

Ku Fei slowly rolled over onto her stomach, and crawled under the covers of her bed. She kept her eyes closed, and curled up into a ball, hugging her knees.

"I wonder what Chao is doing right now?" She asked herself softly, unconsciously switching back to Chinese.

Three days. Three days ago Chao had said her final words and bid this world goodbye. She had returned to her own time, in the future. Ku Fei felt her whole body tightening at these thoughts, and she distracted herself by reaching up to her hair. She removed the hair decorations that held up her hair, and dropped them over the edge of the bed. She barely heard the gentle tapping they made as they impacted the floor; instead she ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to find some measure of peace in the swirling, angry thoughts inside her head.

Tried. She didn't succeed. All she could think about was her friend. Chao was gone now, and she doubted she would ever see her again. Sure, Chao had said they would meet again, but still, the chances were slim, weren't they?

Ku Fei reached into her pocket, and pulled out the slightly bent photograph she always carried around. Even before Chao had left, she always carried it with her. She brought it close to her face, and studied the detail again. The photograph showed Ku Fei sitting on a bench outside the school, with Chao behind her, sitting on the back of the bench. Chao's left arm had been around her neck in a friendly embrace and her right hand was on her shoulder. Chao had put her chin on top of Ku Fei's head, her legs on both sides of Ku Fei. Both were smiling; they had been enjoying that day immensely.

Ku Fei did not try to stop the tears this time; she knew she couldn't. She brought the photograph to her chest, and pressed it tight against her heart. It didn't help ease the pain, but then again, she didn't expect it to. She took a deep breath, turning her thoughts to some of the memories Chao and herself had made.

_"Is fairly easy, yes?" Ku Fei asked, demonstrating the masterswipe again. Chao watched her, a bemused expression on her face. "Yeah, but it's more of a trick than an actual fighting move." She replied, smirking._

_Ku Fei shrugged, and switched to her native language. "Yeah, it is, but it's good conditioning, aaaaand it looks pretty cool." She said. "That's mainly why I'm learning how to trick." She said. Then she laughed. "Well, I pretty much know how to already, whether I knew it or not. Most of the kicks, the Tornado kicks, the 540s and the crescent and inside crescent kicks, I can do those." She said. "I also know the aerial, the butterfly twist and the butterfly kick. Now, I just need to get down the double-leg and the au batido, both pretty simple moves." She said. _

_Chao nodded, and Ku Fei ducked into another tricking combo, throwing a butterfly twist, and hooking it into an axe-to-aerial, before taking a step back and reverse-aerialling. She swiftly ducked into a masterswipe, and came up into another aerial, getting massive hangtime as her legs seemed to hesitate in the air for a second before whipping back down to come underneath her. She then popped into a Tornado kick, and used her kicking leg to power into a backflip._

_Chao laughed, as Ku Fei landed the backflip, breathing hard._

_"That was nice, I gotta admit, it seems pretty worth it to put the time into something like this." She said. "I can see the training applications it has."_

_Ku Fei nodded. "And it's fun." She said simply. Chao nodded. "Indeed, I bet it would be fun."_

_"I like the aerials you do, you always get so much hang-time." Chao said, complimenting her. "How many can you do in a row?" _

_Ku Fei grinned, and adjusted her red shorts. "Let's find out." She said. Her red shorts were a bit too small for her, and as a result she couldn't tie them up. She left them open in the front, but they gripped her fairly tightly, without restricting her movement. Her black T-shirt was labelless, and quite tight-fitting. The sleeves were short, and didn't fully cover her shoulders, leaving most of her shoulders and all of her arms bare._

_Ku Fei took a few steps forward, before setting, then lifting up her leg, throwing her arms downward, and curving them up, giving her lift. She kicked off her standing leg, and rotated quickly around, her feet landing beneath her swiftly. _

_Chao watched as she immediately swung into another one, but the loss of momentum was obvious, and this aerial was much slower. When Ku Fei landed, she took a step backward, and flicked into reverse aerial, and as soon as she landed she kicked into another aerial. Another aerial followed an axe-to-aerial, and Ku Fei was almost at her limit. Ku Fei tried to squeeze one more aerial out of her tired body, and she didn't quite make it all the way around, throwing her hands to the ground as she landed awkwardly on her leg._

_At first, the pain was nothing, and Ku Fei laughed it off, standing up quickly._

_"Not many right now I'm afraid." She said. "I can do six before failing."_

_Chao laughed, and put her arm around her friends shoulder. "Which is six more than I can do right now, so don't worry yourself about it." She said. Ku Fei nodded, then winced as she tried to take a step on her sore left leg._

_"Ahh, this leg is no good." She said softly, trying to slowly put pressure on it. As soon as she attempted to put weight on the leg, pain streaked up her shin, forcing her to quickly pick her foot up._

_"Ahhn damn...um...that's no good." Ku Fei said, embarrassed._

_Chao laughed. "It's nothing to worry about." She said, moving in front of her friend._

_"Here, I'll carry you back to the room so you can ice your leg." She said._

_Ku Fei hesitated. "Are you sure?" She asked._

_Chao nodded. "Sure, anything for my friend." She said. "Jump on."_

_Ku Fei awkwardly climbed onto Chao's back, and placed her hands on her friends bare shoulders. Chao was wearing a dark purple tight fitting sleeveless shirt, with light purple flower patterns on it. _

_Her pants too were interesting, Ku Fei thought, leaning her head on Chao's shoulder, her chin almost in the crook of Chao's neck._

_As Chao started walking, Ku Fei noticed the soft 'swish' sound her pant legs made as they rubbed together. Her pants were like samurai's hakama, but they were cut off a few inches below the knee. They too were a deep purple, and gripped her backside very tightly, hugging her waist, hips, and upper thighs before loosening out toward the knees. Around the bottom hem of each pantleg was a deep, two inch wide dark red strip of fabric, offsetting the deep purple. _

_"You don't have to do this you know." Ku Fei said, feeling embarrassed that her friend was carrying her._

_Chao hummed, almost happily, it seemed to Ku._

_"Yeah, but I don't mind." She said, her fingers gently cupping Ku Fei's thighs, careful not to pinch her. Ku Fei wondered what Chao was sounding so happy about._

_"Ahh, you're a mystery Chao-Chan." Ku Fei whispered softly._

_"It comes with being a genious and all that." She said, almost reflexively. Ku Fei, whenever she couldn't figure out what Chao was up to, always said the same thing, that she was a mystery. Chao was quick to blame her genious, but now, Chao had no idea that Ku Fei was referring to something else when she said it._

_Ku Fei smiled. "I bet it does." She said, laughing. Chao slowed to navigate some steps, careful not to upset Ku Fei's now obviously swelled ankle._

_Chao said nothing, but when they got to the door, she stopped._

_"Uh oh." Chao said, both her hands holding up Ku Fei._

_Ku Fei saw the problem presented, and laughed loudly. "Got any solutions for this, genious girl?" She teased._

_Chao thought about it for a sec, before nodding._

_"Actually, I do." She said, walking to the left side of the multi-doored entrance._

_"The handicap door." She said simply, raising her foot and gently kicking the automatic door opener._

_Ku Fei smirked, her lips now against the back of Chao's neck. It was unconscious; there was no reason for it other than her neck was starting to hurt from tilting her head to look over Chao's left shoulder._

_"I shouldn't have said anything..." She whispered, evoking a laugh from Chao._

_"Nya...comes with the whole genious thing, you know." She said, teasing. "Not _everybody_ would think to use the handicap door."_

_Ku Fei blushed, and fell silent, knowing that she probably _wouldn't_ have realized that she could use the handicap door._

_"But don't worry, we're almost near your room." Chao said, passing some closed doors. Ku Fei nodded._

_"You gonna join me and keep me company, or are you going back to your training?" She asked, hoping Chao would stay._

_Chao shrugged gently, making sure not to disturb Ku. _

_"Don't know." She said. "I really should train but...I want to make sure your ankle is taken care of properly." She said, looking down at Ku Fei's bare feet. Her left ankle was swollen, and noticeably bigger than her right, and the bruising had started to show up._

_"You don't have to." Ku Fei said, not wanting to bother Chao. _

_"Mmm, but I will." She said, making up her mind. Chao gently set Ku Fei down in front of her door, and opened it. Putting her arm around Ku Fei's waist, Chao helped Ku Fei walk toward the big armchair in front of the television. _

_"Here, sit here and I'll go grab some ice." She said, slowly easing Ku down into the chair. _

_Ku bowed her head slightly, and thanked her for her help._

_Chao smiled, and dismissed it. "It's nothing to worry about." She said. Chao disappeared into the kitchen, and returned a moment later with an ice pack wrapped in a dish cloth._

_"You should elevate your feet too." Chao said, bringing the footrest closer. Ku Fei slowly placed her feet on the footrest, which elevated them about a foot and a half above ground level. It wasn't perfect, but then again, this injury wasn't quite that serious._

_"Here you go." Chao said, placing the ice pack against her ankle. _

_"Thank you again, Chao." She said, as the cold began to invade her ankle. _

_Chao waved it off, and pulled up another armchair next to Ku, sitting in it. _

_"Just rest." Chao said, turning her head slightly to look at Ku. "Watch the television or something." _

_Ku Fei nodded, and took the remote that Chao handed her, flicking on the T.V._

_A few channel selections later, and Ku landed on an anime channel, one of her secret weaknesses. Many times her training had _almost_ been interrupted because of an anime. _

_Try as she might, after a half hour, Ku Fei couldn't stay awake. She had been training all morning, then tricking all afternoon, and the injury had taken more out of her than she could handle. She tilted her head to the side, and closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall asleep._

_When she woke up, Chao was gone and the television was shut off. She was also laying in bed, moved from the armchair to her bed by, she guessed, Chao. The ice had long ago warmed up, losing its effect, but it was fine, because her leg felt fine. She slowly got out of bed, carefully testing her leg as she put weight on it. _

_There was slight pain, but nothing she couldn't walk off. She got up, returning the ice pack to the freezer. She slipped into her shoes, and left, shutting the door behind her. _

Ku Fei took another glance at the picture, but it didn't make her feel worse. She couldn't feel worse. She was already crying openly, for anyone who wanted to hear. She was glad her room was empty. Her heart was aching, and she wondered how she had ever thought she would get along okay without Chao.

Once more she imagined Chao's face, and felt her heart skip a beat, speeding up for a moment as some unknown emotion coursed through her.

"Please come back to me Chao, I don't know what to do without you." She whispered. "Sure I acted tough in front of everyone else, but without you, what am I? I don't even know." She said softly. "I need you Chao, I don't even see the point of anything without you." Her thoughts turned to her martial arts, and how they would suffer now that Chao was gone.

"You always taught me that martial arts were for myself, and I should train them only for myself, and only if I enjoyed it." Ku Fei mumbled. "But I trained them, not only because they were fun, but because you motivated me, and made it fun. What do I do now? I relied on you to guide my training, and you're not here. If it wasn't for my promise to train Negi, I doubt my martial arts would come very far now."

Ku Fei shook her head. "Chao please come back..." She whispered pitifully. "I need you here. I..."

_She what?_ Ku Fei wondered. Her heart knew. Her heart knew what she wanted to say, but her head wouldn't accept it. If her head accepted that, it would make Chao's absence that much more painful.

"Well what could be worse than this?" Ku Fei asked herself softly. "Even if I admitted that I loved Chao, she's still gone..." Ku Fei trailed off as she heard what she had said.

Love. Ku Fei had admitted, at least to herself, that she was in love with Chao. But Chao was still gone, her head insisted urgently. Her love would ultimately amount to nothing.

This thought sent anger screaming through her body, but it was quickly replaced by overwhelming sadness as her had one more terrifying thought.

There was little hope of ever seeing Chao again, and that, she could count on.

Chao hummed. Now that she was in the future--She stopped herself there. It wasn't the future, it was her _present._ She couldn't always live in the time of those kids. Now that she was back in her own time, things seemed dull. Ku Fei entered her thoughts for a second, but she disregarded them. She looked over her plans laying on the table. They were the plans she had formulated long ago that had gotten her past the time barrier, and into the past in the first place, and looking at them now, she could see many flaws, many errors. It was a wonder they worked at all, she thought. Once she had arrived in the past, her work with Hakase, and the others had proved the errors of her ways, although she was still many times their superior when it came to raw intellect.

Her only flaw was that sometimes, being so smart, she got accustomed to being right, and often went ahead with her first thoughts or ideas without checking them out. Hakase and the others, not so smart, had gotten used to checking over their ideas multiple times, looking for flaws in their ideas or designs. Chao had started doing this, and it had proved quite useful to her.

Chao swept the plans aside, and sat down, staring at the desk top. Her thoughts wandered over her final moments in the past, as her eyes flicked to the sword Ku Fei had given her as a parting gift. That one, she had made sure to take. An interesting thing she had noted, and not without a blush, was when she drew the sword, and looked near the base of the blade, there was an inscription. "Chao-Your gone from my life, but not from my heart." Chao thought about it for a few more minutes, about the potential meanings, before she forced herself to change her thoughts.

_Damn that Negi!_ She thought, pulling a pad and a pencil toward her. She started doodling, even as her own thoughts got the best of her.

She wasn't really mad at Negi, she knew. His innocence could be forgiven, thinking that she could stay in the past, and his proposal of the pactio--even though she knew that wasn't what he was really doing-- was more funny than disturbing.

What she really didn't like was how he made her realize how much she had enjoyed the past. He had started her thinking, and she was thinking dangerous thoughts. Thoughts of living in the past, because it was _fun._ And it was fun, she admitted. Fun though, she couldn't afford to have.

Hell, even Ku Fei, her best friend, had accepted that she was going back, but Negi--Negi!-- that brat, he felt he had some teacherly duty or something to see that she remained behind. She shook her head. "Whatever his purpose, I'm back now, so there's no point in worrying about it."

Still, her thoughts drifted back to Ku. It had hurt more than she had anticipated, leaving Ku behind. A small part of her even regretted it, but thoughts like those couldn't be harboured for very long.

Chao stared down at her doodling, and realized what it was. Plans. Plans to return to the past. A new time machine, a new Cassieopia. A better one, less flawed than the original. It made better use of her magic, the magic of the world tree.

Chao blinked, and swallowed nervously. Did she really want to return to the past?

She pushed the pad of paper away from her, and crossed her arms. She tried to reason with herself, telling herself that there was no _reason_ to go back. Again, Ku Fei's face flashed through her mind, and if she was honest with herself, she would have known that Ku Fei was reason enough to go back.

Thoughts of Ku Fei usually made her blush lightly, and sometimes, smile at some secret thoughts. The skilled chinese girl with the broken Japanese had been her best friend the whole time she was in the past, and Chao was hesitant to just _forget_ about her. There was so much potential there for a deeper relationship that she just--

Chao shook her head. Thoughts of those kind were usually reserved for nighttime, when she could afford them. Not now, when she was sitting at her work desk, contemplating going back to the past. Personal thoughts couldn't be involved in such a major decision as this.

Yet her reasons for going to the past last time had been nothing but personal, she thought.

She stared at the wall for a long time, many thoughts swirling around in her head. Finally, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out a picture of Ku Fei. It showed Ku Fei in the martial arts tournament she had hosted not too long before her departure from the past, and it was near the beginning, when Ku was warming up. Her chinese dress was still intact, and she was smiling widely in anticipation of the competition. Chao was genuinely sorry she hadn't made time for Ku Fei and the others during the tournament, but her plans had been too important. Or so it seemed. Staring at this picture of Ku, she could barely remember why she had struggled so hard. Chao leaned forward, and pinned the picture to the wall in front of her desk, where she could always see it. Her mind was made up.

"Keep watch over me Ku." She said softly, pulling the pad of paper back toward her. "It may take a while, but I'm coming back. Watch over me until I get there, until I can watch over you." She said.

"Trust me Ku," She said, already working out new ideas. "Theres more hope to a reunion then you guys think."

A/N: I was looking to develop the relationship between Chao and Ku, but I didn't want to make it absolute yuri. At least, not right off the bat. This is more of a love between friends. Really good friends. It was intended as a one-shot, to reflect how Ku felt after Chao left, which seemed incredibly sad to me, but I might develop this, and include Chao's return. I still gotta go back to the storyline and gather some details about the Cassieopia, and the world tree, but after that, a second chapter can be expected.


End file.
